Buying a second home in the Alps can be a complicated, lengthy and expensive business. Oh, but it is so worth it! To have your own place to call home in a ski resort is an absolute luxury for us mountain-lovers.
After months of wrangling with estate agents, lawyers, tax advisers, notaries and planning authorities, you finally get the keys to your long awaited property. You are champing at the bit to get out to the Alps and make the most of your new acquisition. So, it’s time to turn your focus to getting things shipshape!
Ok. So, let’s get started. There are three ways to approach this and it is important to recognise which boat you want to sail from the very beginning:
1. Spreadsheet Junkie
This is your dream property and it is all that has occupied your thoughts since you first clapped eyes on it months ago. You have lists and spreadsheets covering every single detail: Furniture for each room and where it will fit, when it needs to be ordered by and weights and dimensions for delivery; Numbers of laverie-compatible bed linen sets and towels for each room for private use, rental purposes and emergency back-up (not forgetting extra sets for those zip and link beds!); Quantities of crockery, glassware and cutlery having double checked with the suppliers that your chosen ranges won’t be discontinued any time soon. Replacements are always needed, especially after a week of rowdy renters!; All the lighting, electrical goods and plugs are compatible with the country. Curtains and blinds on order – including ones for those tricky apex windows.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On top of all this you have the schedule of deliveries mapped out. You’ve arranged for someone to be at the property to receive all your deliveries, assemble furniture, install and take away the packaging. The photographer is lined-up, the management company is under instruction and your property is ready to make it’s debut on the internet. In short, you’ve thought of absolutely everything. You’re totally on it!
2. Delegation is the name of the game
You can’t wait to get out to your new property and enjoy it. You definitely deserve a break from work, your crazy hectic family life and chock-a-block social diary. In fact, you are so busy that it only seems like two minutes ago that you got the keys to the chalet and the winter season is now looming. An interior designer-come-superhero is what you need to get the place ready. There is bags of room in the budget and this is the only feasible way of getting your chalet dressed to impress and ready to provide the easy life you crave on your holiday from the moment you walk in the door. Or is it?
3. Cool, calm and collected
If the thought of an interior designer taking over your dream isn’t your bag, or the cost sends shivers down your spine, then you might find yourself most at home here in camp 3: Welcome to the Chalet Shop Ski Property Package.
So, how does it work? Firstly, we take the time to get to know your style, your budget and your floor plans inside out. Then we create a package of everything you need to get your chalet up and running, checking with you that you are happy with our choices and recommendations every step of the way. We store everything securely in the UK until a mutually convenient date when we organise a lorry to deliver everything directly to your property. We take care of the customs and excise paperwork where necessary and can even include your personal items with our delivery. From start to finish, you can be involved as much or as little as you like. You will always have the final say on what goes in the lorry and what doesn’t. By the way, we are not interior designers, but we do have extensive chalet management experience and pretty good taste (even if we do say so ourselves). If it sounds straightforward, that’s because it is!
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what one of our most recent customers had to say after the arrival of his package in Nendaz, Switzerland:
I have just completed a two year project to extend and refurbish my chalet in Switzerland. Chalet shop have been extremely helpful, offering a very personal service, especially in helping me save the 12% difference between UK VAT and Swiss VAT. The quality of all the items, from bedding to garden furniture, is excellent and I would recommend them to anyone embarking on either buying a property abroad or wishing to upgrade/modernise an existing property, as a ‘partner’ in their project.
And, these words from a lovely couple with an apartment in Samoens:
When we initially bought our small apartment in France the excitement was soon overtaken by the reality of the daunting task of furnishing the property to a standard that we wanted and that would be expected in a rental property. After some research we found Chalet Shop and immediately realised that having a professional approach to managing the process, including sourcing and delivering furniture and equipment was far more beneficial to us as it removed the stress of waiting for deliveries from a number of shops and avoided the need for us to be in when deliveries were made. Communications were excellent with Chalet Shop at all stages of the process and the end result is that we have a beautifully furnished apartment with quality fittings. We would completely recommend Chalet Shop to anyone and we have actually bought some items for our home in Edinburgh. Lovely people to deal with, great service.
So if a Chalet Shop Ski Property Package is the solution you’ve been looking for, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!
